The present disclosure is directed to a combination wound and injury treatment apparatus, and more particularly, to a pressurized wound and injury treatment apparatus that may include thermal packs that may be positioned on a patient's body part to provide circumferential thermal treatment at a desired location on the body part and/or pressurized sterile material for the treatment of wounds and/or injuries.
The generally accepted first aid treatment for injuries such as, for example, strains, sprains, contusions, dislocations, uncomplicated fractures and other non-acute injuries to human body parts may be often referred to by the acronym RICE, which stands for rest, ice, compression and elevation. Rest may be prescribed because continued activity may cause further injury to the body part thereby delaying the healing process, increasing pain, and stimulating internal bleeding. Ice may be prescribed because blood vessels contract when exposed to cold temperatures, which helps reduce swelling in the injured body part and also helps to reduce the extent of internal bleeding from injured capillaries and blood vessels. Compression may be prescribed because it tends to hasten healing time by reducing swelling around the injury. And, elevation of the body part above the heart may be prescribed because it tends to reduce swelling in the body part and also tends to reduce pain.
Although ice may be prescribed to treat injured body parts, ice may cause discomfort when placed between a compressive wrap and an injured body part because it may be a rigid non-conforming solid. Ice may be also difficult to position on an injured body part, and it tends to melt quickly, which results in a loss of the desired cold treatment and/or frequent disturbance of the injured body part to apply more ice. In view of these and other disadvantages, temperature-retaining gel-filled thermal packs may be frequently used instead of ice in the first aid treatment of injured body parts. The gels used in such packs tend to remain cold for a longer period of time than ice, and such gels also preferably remain viscous at low temperatures, which allow them to more comfortably conform to the contours of the injured body part when placed between a compressive wrap and the injured body part.
Flat packs, while widely used to provide first aid treatment to injured body parts, present certain problems and disadvantages. One problem with flat packs may be that they do not provide circumferential thermal treatment to injured body parts (i.e., thermal treatment completely surrounding the injured body part at the location of the injury). Flat packs may be effective in applying cold treatment to injured body parts only insofar as they may be placed into contact with the injured body part. Thus, in order to provide circumferential or radial thermal treatment to an injured body part, it may be typically necessary to apply more than one flat pack to the injured body part, which may present placement and retention problems. In addition, it may be sometimes very difficult and time consuming to secure flat packs to an injured body part, even when the flat pack may be provided with straps or other securing means
Concerning wounds, one of the leading causes of death on military battlegrounds and in hospital trauma units may be severe blood loss and the associated shock that it produces. Therefore, one of the most vital priorities of caregivers (medics, first responders, and medical providers) may be to control and stop bleeding. There are many devices and methods that may be employed to control bleeding. One of the most commonly used devices for bleeding control may be the elastic bandage.
Elastic bandages have been known in the prior art for many years. These bandages may be sometimes called “roller” bandages or “wraps” and come in rolls having various fasteners, such as Velcro®, metal clips, or tape. They may be sold under brand names such as ACE® wrap.
Elastic bandages may be a preferred wound dressing by caregivers ranging from physicians and trained medics to individual first responders with minimal first aid training. Elastics bandages may be highly adaptable to treat a range of wounds and conform to virtually any body part. Elastic bandages provide many benefits at the wound site, including applying varying degrees of compression and support to the wound, as well as providing a sterile barrier around the wound. Compression and support may be effective in controlling bleeding, and reducing pain and swelling in the area around the wound. The sterile barrier reduces the risk of contamination and infection of the wound.
Elastic bandages may be also effective in applying and securing other treatment medicaments and materials to the wound site. One material that may be often used in wound dressing and treatment may be a woven fabric or gauze. Gauze may be effective in controlling bleeding and may be placed directly on the wound to provide focused treatment at the wound site. Gauze may be also used as a sterile material to remove foreign matter from the wound site.
Many currently available bandages act to cover the wound site. Their main function may be to keep the wound site clean, not to control hemorrhage. In order to control hemorrhage, another material, such as gauze, must be used at the wound site. The gauze may then be covered and wrapped by the bandage. These bandages require the introduction and use of other materials to properly treat at least one of a wound and an injury.
There may be presently available hemostatic dressings that may be designed to promote the accelerated clotting of blood at wounds. Examples of these dressing may be the HemCon® bandage (HemCon Inc., Tigard, Oreg., U.S.A) and QuickClot® (Z-Medica Corporation, Wallingford, Conn., U.S.A.). While these products generally promote clotting, they still require the application of direct pressure to the wound site in order to be effective.
Notwithstanding the usefulness of the above-described treatments, a need still exists for a fully integrated systems and methods for wound and/or injury treatment, systems and methods for treating wounds and/or injuries relatively quickly and effectively while reducing the risk of contamination and infection.